Blonde Haired Discoveries
by helpthehorriblelovethelonely
Summary: Harry wakes up the morning of his 17th birthday feeling a bit... odd, and when he looks in the mirror he finds a whole new person staring back at him. He's confused as hell, and when he finds himself sitting on the hogwarts express with Draco Malfoy and his friends, he learns some things about himself he hadn't expected, like the fact his entire life has been a lie.


Harry woke up the morning of his 17th birthday feeling… odd, to say the least.

He woke up in the too small bedroom at number 4 Privet Dr, like he always did. Except something was different today, he knew that he had turned 17 and that that usually made your magic shift and change, but it was more than just that, Harry could tell.

Harry felt like his entire being had shifted, like suddenly he was a completely different person. He woke up and stretched, he thought he saw something out of his peripheral vision and when he turned to look, he jumped. Stretching from his back were navy blue wings, a mix between a scale and feather texture.

Harry, understandably, was very confused. He tested out what he could do with the wings and he found that he could tuck them into his back seamlessly, only coming out when he wanted/needed them to. He also found that he could wrap them around himself like a shield.

He swallowed thickly; this was not how he expected his 17th birthday to go. He stood up and blinked over at the nightstand, suddenly realizing that he was seeing perfectly clear without his glasses. The longer Harry was awake, the more uneasy he felt.

He tucked his wings back into his back, best not to freak his relatives out any more than they already were, he trudged to the bathroom to brush his teeth and shower. When he looked in the mirror finally, his toothbrush fell out of his hand.

Standing in front of him was not the scrawny, half grown Harry Potter that had been there the night before, instead, he looked… nothing like a Potter at all. His green eyes had been replaced by icy blue, his messy black hair was now straight and blonde, reaching just under his chin in length. He could feel the way his magic thrummed around him, and he felt almost like a pureblood with the way it demanded him to stand up straighter and respect himself more.

Great, he had been 17 for 7 hours, and he was a completely different person somehow. He had to finish his seventh year; he couldn't do that as someone new!

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, he was very glad he was leaving his relatives today, he was also very glad that Dumbledore was dead, and the order of the phoenix was disbanded, otherwise he would have been in trouble.

He picked his toothbrush up off of the counter and rinsed it off before finally brushing his teeth and heading into the shower. When he stepped out and got dressed, he took his wand out and waved it around himself, spelling a glamour on that made him go back to looking like the old Harry Potter, and not whoever was standing in front of him right now.

Harry made breakfast for the Dursley family one last time before he collected his things and headed out, he wasn't entirely sure where he was going yet, but he knew he was getting out of that house if it killed him.

Thankfully, he was able to leave with very little issues, he held out his wand arm and called for the day/night bus. He told the driver to take him to Diagon alley, so they did. Harry bought a room at the leaky cauldron until he was to return to school, so he had somewhere to stay. He laid down on his bed with a sigh, letting the glamour's fall, he knew it was going to be tiring to keep them up all the time, he didn't know how he was going to make it through the school year with having to have them up 24/7. He guessed he would just have to deal with it.

Not only had his appearance and magic changed, but something inside of him felt weird. He felt this ever present tug in his chest, as well as feelings that didn't belong to him. For instance, what he was feeling right now was a mix of his own frustrated feelings, but somebody else's rage. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he was intent on finding out.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry climbed onto the Hogwarts express on the first of September with a bit of hesitancy. He knew from the last time he saw Ron and Hermione before the summer that they wanted nothing to do with him, he was happy about that, but now he had to find a new compartment to sit in. Harry was walking by a compartment full of his year mates when he realized just which year mates they were.

He glanced through the window at Draco Malfoy, who also seemed to look different sense he turned 17, although the changes certainly weren't as drastic as Harry's, he did look far more like the pureblood he was. Harry took a deep breath, he was either going to die or be allowed to stay, he thought both options sounded pretty okay at this point, so he knocked on the compartment door before slowly opening it.

"Hey, uh, do you guys mind if I sit here?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder when he thought he heard Ron speaking a short ways away.

Draco Malfoy was talking to his friends, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini, about how he had come into his creature inheritance over the summer, and how it had shifted his magic and just about everything else about him. He had been prepared for it though, so he was excited to see the changes. He turned his head when he heard a small knock on the door, and when it opened to reveal Potter he scowled, he really didn't want to deal with the prat right now. Except, Draco noticed, something seemed different about Potter, the magic around him demanded attention, and he held himself differently than he used to, Draco's eyes narrowed, something was up.

"Hey, uh, do you guys mind if I sit here?" Potter asked quietly, Draco watched as he nervously looked over his shoulder before he looked back at them pleadingly. Draco didn't know why he thought this was a good idea, but he nodded. Potter seemed to look relieved before he slowly came in and closed the door behind him. he sat in an empty seat next to Draco and scooted as far away from him as possible, not wanting to get in his space. He pulled his legs up on the seat with him and just looked out the window.

"what do you want, Potter?" Pansy asked suspiciously, Potter looked over at her and tilted his head to the side a bit,

"I just need some place to sit, Parkinson, I mean no harm." he responded easily, Draco's eyes narrowed further, something was definitely up.

"what about Granger and Weasley?" he asked, watching the others reaction closely.

Harry snorted in response, rolling his eyes, "They want nothing to do with me, and the feeling is mutual. They weren't exactly fond of the fact that when Dumbledore died, I refused to do whatever the order commanded me to do."

"What do you mean by that?" it was Blaise who asked. Draco noticed as Harry pursed his lips, his image flickered a bit, Draco couldn't see what was behind it, but something was there.

"I mean that when there was no longer an evil old man ordering me around anymore, I decided not to do what his cronies told me to."

Draco was in shock, this wasn't the Potter he had expected, Hell this wasn't the Potter he knew at all, what the fuck was going on here?

The Slytherins bombarded Harry with questions, all of which he answered easily. They asked about his views on the war, Harry told them that he would back the dark lord 100%, and already does. They asked why he was pretending to be the Gryffindor golden boy, he told them that it was either that or be killed.

The conversation shifted, Harry laid his head down on the back of the seat while Blaise, Pansy, and Draco picked back up their earlier conversation.

"So, Draco, you were saying you came into a creature inheritance, vela, right?" it was Pansy who asked, leaning back in her seat. Draco nodded with a hum,

"Pureblooded. Woke up on my birthday with wings, and everything was just… different," Draco saw out of the corner of his eye how Potter, or maybe he should call him Harry? How Harry perked up at the information and began to listen closely.

"Wings? That's badass," Blaise chuckled, "Are you the dominant one, or is your mate?" Draco thought for a second,

"Pretty sure I am." He continued to talk about what being a new vela was like, Draco jumped a bit when he heard Harry groan from beside him.

"You alright, Potter?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Harry shook his head but didn't say anything else.

Of course, of course he was a creature, because of course he just had to go and be more of a freak then he already was. He shrunk in on himself, why did these things always have to happen to him? He thought he would be able to be relatively normal now that Dumbledore was dead, but now he's a creature on top of everything else.

Draco tried to ask Harry what was wrong, but Harry wouldn't answer, he just curled up further into himself. Draco sighed and shook his head, letting him be.

"Draco," Pansy said slowly, as if she was trying to gauge how he would take her next sentence. "wouldn't Cygnus have come into his inheritance as well?" she cowered a bit at the look Draco gave her, "So maybe… maybe you'll be able to find him?"

"Pansy, he's gone, dead." Draco spat bitterly, his magic swirled around them, filled with despair and frustration.

Harry frowned, he didn't know why, but he hated seeing Draco so upset, he raised his hand up and placed it on his shoulder, he wasn't sure how the other was going to react, but he did it anyway.

Draco felt someone's hand on his shoulder, he went to snap at them but for some reason, the touch soothed him. He turned towards Harry who was looking at him in concern.

"Are you okay, Draco?" Harry asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Draco closed his eyes and took a breath, "I had a twin brother," he spoke, his voice clipped, "he was taken from home when we were infants, mother and father looked everywhere, but they couldn't find him. He's dead." He said stiffly, not opening his eyes.

"I…" Harry started, his eyes widening. Harry started hyperventilating, he remembered how much he looked like a Malfoy without his glamour's on, he remembered how the Potters didn't have any creature blood in their ancestry, things seemed to click into place, and he wasn't sure he liked what the answers were.

Draco's eyes snapped open, "Potter?" he asked, his own eyes filling with concern. Harry shook his head, he looked like he wanted to speak, but he couldn't.

"Potter? Harry, are you alright?" Draco didn't like seeing the panic in the other's eyes, he especially didn't like the way tears started rolling down his face.

"Harry? Harry you need to calm down," Draco spoke calmly despite his own emotions, when Harry didn't calm down, he placed both of his hands on the boys shoulders to try to ground him. Harry seemed to relax at the touch. His hyperventilating slowed and eventually he was breathing normally, except the tears didn't stop.

"Draco…" Harry whispered, Draco looked at him confused,

"Harry are you-" Harry shook his head, cutting him off.

"Draco, I came into a creature inheritance on my birthday," Harry spoke slowly, his eyes wide and full of so many emotions. Draco was about to ask what he was talking about, but Harry shook his head again.

"I have wings. And when I woke up that morning, I didn't look like this." He motioned towards himself, "I still don't look like this, I just… I didn't know what else to do but hide it… but…" Harry stood and took a step back, he took his glamour's off and there he was, in all his blonde hair, blue eyed glory, his wings spread out to the sides of the compartment.

Draco's eyes widened almost comically, "No…" he breathed, "No… no, no, no, no!" Harry's wings tucked back into his back, but the appearance change didn't waver.

"You… can't be…" he tried to convince himself as Harry sat back down. "You can't be Cygnus," he had tears running down his face now. He tried to convince himself that it wasn't real, that it was a joke or something, but at the equally distraught look in the other blondes eyes, he had to guess that it was real.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, looking down at his lap, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm me." Harry gasped softly when he was pulled into a tight hug.

Draco listened to Cygnus apologize, the self-loathing in his voice breaking his heart. He reached over and pulled Cygnus into a tight hug, who started to cry as he was hugged, hugging back like his life depended on it.

"shhh," Draco soothed, rocking him back and forth, "it's okay, calm down, don't apologize, it's okay." Draco and Cygnus were twins, but Draco was the older twin by about an hour, somehow it made enough of a difference for big brother mode to kick in, but also Draco being a dominant and Harry being a submissive made a difference. He couldn't believe it, his brother had been under his nose the entire time, and he never noticed. No wonder the rejection in first year hurt so badly.

"What do we do now?" he heard Cygnus whisper, Draco rubbed the spot on his back where his wings came out, Cygnus seemed to relax considerably at the touch.

"I guess the first step would be to owl mother and father," Draco laughed nervously, "you… you may have to remain Harry Potter for a bit longer, though," he frowned, Cygnus nodded slowly.

"Fake being the Gryffindor golden boy? I think I can keep doing that," Cygnus teased, Draco laughed and pulled away from the hug. He looked over at his two friends who had been closely watching the interaction.

"Hey!" Pansy said after a moment of silence, a grin spreading across her face, "I was right about being able to find him!" the twins couldn't help but laugh.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

The rest of the train ride went by pleasantly, it was mostly Cygnus and Draco catching up on each other's lives, finding out who the other person was outside of the parts they had to play. Cygnus looked awfully sad when the train stopped, not liking he had to put his glamour's back up. Draco hugged his brother, who now looked nothing like him,

"It's okay, Cygnus," he said soothingly, "the three of us will be around if you need us, I promise." Draco smiled; Cygnus squeezed him in their hug before he pulled away. The now friend group of four all nodded at each other before leaving the train, they climbed onto a carriage and made their way to the castle. Cygnus' frown only grew when he had to sit at the Gryffindor table, he saw his brother give him a small smile, and it made him feel better.

Of course, that was until a sharp tug in his chest demanded his attention, Cygnus gasped, and a hand flew to his chest, he was then struck with a wave of deep frustration. Cygnus took deep breaths through it, trying to make the pain go away, it helped a little bit but not much. Cygnus had absolutely no idea what was going on, he was so confused.

He patiently waited through the sorting and the meal in order to head back to his dorm room, although he really wasn't looking forward to going up to Gryffindor tower. He slumped in on himself and looked up at the triad of Slytherins, he saw Draco was writing something very quickly on a piece of parchment. When Draco looked up the two caught eyes and Draco gave a small, almost imperceptible smile, Cygnus gave him a bit of a nod and went back to his food, things would sort themselves out.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Severus Snape was not in a good mood. He was very rarely in a good mood, but today he was in an especially bad mood.

It was the first day of classes, he was currently in the seventh year potions class and a pull in his chest was driving him crazy.

Not many people knew this about Severus, but he was a shadow person, a creature of the shadows, it's what helped him sneak up on students in the halls and be a spy for the dark lord without being noticed. Being a creature though, he was supposed to have a mate, but he never felt the mate bond. It made him bitter, all creatures had mates, and he had to be the one who didn't?

But during the summer he had woken up with a tug in his chest and an almost emptiness, he had frowned deeply and thought it was nothing, maybe he was getting a cold. But as the day went by, he knew it definitely wasn't just a cold. He had a newly formed mate bond, 20 years after coming into his own inheritance. He was angry, just as he was becoming fine with being without a mate, he gets one. He really should have been grateful that mother magic hadn't forgotten about him after all, but that wasn't his line of thinking at the moment.

Severus was subtly winding his way around the classroom, following the pull in his chest to where it told him his mate was. He came to stand behind two students, Severus furrowed his eyebrows as he realized just who was sitting at this table and working together.

Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were working together on their potion seamlessly. They moved around each other with ease and precision that Severus had never seen from the two when they were working together before. The pull in his chest was especially strong here, it was almost painful, he was even more confused when he realized that he had been around his godson several times sense he came into his inheritance, and there was never a pull around him- that meant the pull was leading him to Potter. Frustration and anger filled him.

Cygnus paused what he was doing at the cauldron with a gasp, his hand flew to his chest as the pull was suddenly painful, not only that, but the anger and frustration that came through the bond was almost unbearable. He let out a quiet whimper and pressed his hand more firmly to his chest.

Severus noticed the reaction the young man had at being so close, and apparently at the anger Severus was feeling. He heard the tiny whimper from Potter and everything in him told him to reach forward and pull him into an embrace, but instead he took a step back, it made the pull more painful.

Draco's head snapped up to look over at Cygnus, "Cy-" he stopped himself, they had come to a silent agreement that Cygnus was Harry when they were around other people, but he was Cygnus when they were in private. "Harry are you alright?" he asked quietly, looking at his brother in worry. Cygnus looked over at him and shook his head a tiny bit,

"Hurts…" he whispered, "There's a… a pull? It hurts… I don't know what's going on?" He whispered, he sounded so lost, Draco wanted to kill whoever it was that took Harry and prevented him from being able to learn about his creature, and his entire identity, for that matter.

Draco reached a hand over and rubbed his back where his wings would come out, Cygnus relaxed ever so slightly at the touch, but also the pull became slightly less intense. "I'll explain later, Harry," Draco said soothingly, Cygnus nodded, they went back to their potion.

Severus took a few more steps back and noticed as Potter seemed to relax the farther away that he got. He had watched the interaction between Potter and his godson, and he was extremely confused. When had the two become not enemies? Let alone close enough to use first names?

Not only was he confused about that, but it was obvious that Potter was his mate, but in order for him to be Severus' mate, that would mean that he had to be a creature.

Severus made his way back over to his desk and sat down, rubbing his temples. He knew for a fact that the Potter and Evans blood lines had no traces of creatures in them, not even by marriage, so there was no reasonable explanation for Potter to be a creature. He growled quietly in his frustration.

He was brought out of his musings by a quiet, "Excuse me, professor,", Severus looked up and saw a very nervous looking Potter in front of him.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" Severus asked, he had to stop himself from snapping at the person in front of him, but his anger must have been felt through the bond because the other winced and took a small step back. Severus' creature _really _didn't like that his mate was afraid of him.

"Here is our potion," Harry answered, he placed the vial gingerly on Severus' desk in front of him before scurrying back to his table where Draco was. Severus watched as Draco rubbed his back, they cleaned up their station before exiting the classroom.

As soon as they left the classroom Cygnus seemed to relax, the pain in his chest started to ease, even if the emotions that weren't his kept on steadily.

Draco led his brother towards the Slytherin common rooms, potions was their last class of the day, so they had time to talk without having to be somewhere. Draco said the password to the common rooms before leading him up to the seventh year dorms. As soon as Draco closed the door behind them, Cygnus, instead of Harry, was standing in the middle of the room, he gingerly sat on the edge of Draco's bed.

"Draco… why does it hurt?" he asked, rubbing at his chest again. Draco sat next to him and pulled him into a side hug.

"That pull you're feeling? That is your creature trying to lead you to your mate." Draco answered softly, rubbing Cygnus' shoulder soothingly. "The closer you are to your mate, the stronger the pull will become, until you two are physically touching. I'm sure you also feel someone else's emotions?" when Cygnus nodded Draco continued, "Those are your mates emotions, coming through a mate bond the two of you share." Cygnus nodded again before he laid his head on Draco's shoulder.

"He was angry," Cygnus spoke quietly, Draco frowned,

"Why do you think he was angry?" he asked gently,

"I don't know, but he was." Cygnus finished and closed his eyes. Draco sighed, they sat like that for a while, Draco told his brother everything he knew about being a vela and just a creature in general. They spoke for a long time, until a Patronus came bounding into the room, a silver doe, it stood in front of Draco and spoke,

"Your parents are here to discuss what you said in your letter?" it questioned before disappearing, Cygnus recognized the Patronus and the voice instantly.

Draco took a deep breath, "I wasn't expecting them to come so soon, I guess you would if someone said they found your long lost kid," the older twin stood and pulled Cygnus up with him. Suddenly, Cygnus was Harry Potter, Draco shook his head a bit, especially as he noticed his brothers anxiety.

"What if they don't want me? Because I was Harry Potter for my whole life?" Cygnus whimpered quietly as he let Draco lead him out of the dorm room and towards Snape's office, where Draco was sure his parents were.

Draco frowned, "They will love you, as they have sense we were born. Although it will be a bit of a shock to them at first when you finally show them your true appearance. They may be rude at first, I apologize for that." Draco gave Cygnus' shoulder a bit of a squeeze before dropping his arm and knocking on Snape's office door. Cygnus hid behind his older brother a bit, stepping inside when the door opened for them.

Cygnus winced when he saw the looks the three older adults, Severus, Lucius, and Narcissa, were giving him. He also felt the pull in his chest increase, as well as his anxiety increase dramatically.

"Draco," Lucius spoke, his voice cold as he looked the two boys up and down. "I was expecting this conversation to be private, not with some random Gryffindor tagalong."

Cygnus winced and hid further behind Draco. He tried to tell himself that they didn't know who he was, that they still thought he was Harry Potter the golden boy, that they still thought he was the poster child for the light, that they didn't know he was their son, but it didn't make the comment sting any less.

Severus' breath hitched when he felt anxiety and heartbreak flood through his bond, a hand went to his chest. He was ignoring the pulling sensation rather well, but the intense emotions were harder to ignore.

"Yes," Narcissa spoke, a bit of disdain in her voice as she eyed who she thought was Harry Potter, "he does not belong here, or anywhere near you for that matter." She was worried that Potter was going to corrupt her son, turn him over to the light side and get himself killed.

Cygnus squeezed his eyes shut, it hurt so badly to hear them say those things about him. Even if they didn't know who he was, it didn't matter. It still felt like the parents he thought that he could finally have were being ripped away from him again.

Severus had to fight a gasp from escaping him at how much pain was coming through his mate bond, he didn't know exactly what was going on, but his mate was upset, and he was fighting every fiber of his being that was telling him to go up and pull the other close, to protect Harry.

"I should go," Cygnus whispered, he tried to inch himself away, but Draco grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, so he was standing next to him, Cygnus hung his head.

"Remove your glamour's, please," Draco spoke softly, looking over at his brother. Cygnus' eyes flicked from Draco's eyes towards their parents, he shook his head just a bit, and he knew his silent 'they don't want me' was understood because Draco shot a quick glare at his parents before turning back to him.

"Remove your glamour's." Draco's voice was still soft, but it was also stern, he wasn't asking this time, he was commanding. Cygnus hung his head again; he took a deep breath before dropping the glamour's. Blonde hair fell to the sides of his face and at the silence he looked up at the older Malfoys who were looking furious, until their eyes met.

Lucius and Narcissa seemed to have come to the same conclusion, Potter had bleached his hair, and this was some sort of prank that he and Draco were playing, they were about to scream at both of them, that was, until Potter lifted his head. The Malfoy parents' eyes widened as they stared at the boy who was almost identical in looks to Draco. They saw the pain in the other boys eyes, they frowned, realizing they had just told their son he shouldn't be around them or his twin at all.

Severus was watching the interaction between the family and Potter in interest, trying to ease the heartbreak feeling from his mate. His eyes also widened when Potter changed to no longer Potter, but to someone else. His creature was begging him to get closer to the boy originally, but now at seeing his real form, it felt like it was trying to claw its way out in order to get to the other.

Cygnus lowered his head again and it was silent for a very long time. Cygnus started crying, his shoulders shaking as his emotions overpowered him.

"I'm sorry," he cried, "I'm so sorry that I am him, I know you don't want me, I'm sorry" he stammered out, his voice unsteady. He felt reassuring feelings being sent through his bond, but he was too upset for them to be able to help. He also felt Draco wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him into a side hug, which helped a little, but not as much as he wished it would.

Suddenly the arm around him was gone and Cygnus whimpered, that is until he felt two people engulf him in a hug. He couldn't help it as he started crying harder, he only felt the arms around him hug him tighter.

Lucius and Narcissa were shocked into silence as they just stared at the two boys in front of them, they were pulled out of their thoughts with the apologies. It felt like a slap to the face.

They watched in horror as the other sobbed and as Draco held onto him in a side hug while glaring furiously at them. The Malfoy parents looked at each other before taking the few steps forward to bridge the gap between their sons and them, they pulled Cygnus into a tight embrace. When he only cried harder, they hugged him tighter and tried to soothe him.

Narcissa pet his hair gently, shushing him, Lucius ran his hand up and down Cygnus' back, "Shh baby," Narcissa whispered, "we're sorry, we didn't know, we're sorry," she felt Cygnus cling to her, soaking up the comfort he was never allowed to have.

"We're sorry," Lucius repeated, "we should not have been so rude, so condescending, so harsh," Cygnus nodded his head and let his parents hold him, it felt weird to be able to do that.

When the family pulled away, Cygnus went back over to Draco who wrapped an arm around his shoulder, leading him over to one of the couches that Severus had in his office. Cygnus was still very tense and anxious, even despite his brothers comfort. He looked up at his parents who sat on the couch opposite the twins.

"I'm sorry," Cygnus repeated, he laid his head on his twins shoulder and closed his eyes. "I know I'm not exactly what you expected. At least it might bring you some comfort to know I support the dark lord completely." he tried to joke, but it just came out weak.

"Draco…" it was Severus who spoke, his eyes never leaving Cygnus, "How did this information come to light?"

Draco sighed and laid his head on his brothers, holding him closer, as if being as close as possible would ease some of the hurt from the last missing 17 years of their lives.

"Pansy, Blaise, and I were on the train when Potter knocked and asked if he could sit with us. We were about to send him away, but I let him stay. Pansy asked him what he wanted, Potter said he just needed a place to sit, Granger and Weasley were out of the question as their 'friendship' died with Dumbledore. He said they didn't like that Potter wouldn't follow the orders of Dumbledore's lackeys, so the order ended up disbanding and the Weasley Granger combo went on to ignore Potter's entire existence.

"We were confused about what he meant when he said he wasn't following their orders, Potter responded that he supported the dark lord and has for years now, but he had to keep playing the golden boy part or else he would be killed. After that conversation, Pansy, Blaise, and I picked up our conversation from before Potter walked in. I told them that I came into my creature inheritance, I explained some bits of it, and Potter reacted in a strange way, but he wouldn't answer as to what was wrong.

"Pansy then mentioned Cygnus, and I was not happy about it, she said if I had come into my inheritance then he would have too, so maybe I could find him easier. I snapped that he was dead. Potter asked if I was okay, I explained I had been a twin, but he had been taken when we were infants. Potter started freaking out, hyperventilating and panicking and all that. After he calmed down enough, he stood and took of his glamour's and showed me his wings, it was obvious who he was after that."

Draco finished and shook his head a bit, he heard Cygnus sigh from next to him. "Always have to go and be the freak, huh?" Draco frowned at his brothers comments.

"You are not a freak," Draco said firmly, but Cygnus just shook his head.

"Been a freak my whole life, nothing is going to change that," He whispered brokenly. He was taken off guard when both he and Draco were pulled into hugs, Narcissa and Lucius holding their boys as if they would disappear if they let go.

The Malfoy family plus Severus spent the rest of the night talking, catching up with Cygnus' life and the Malfoy parents just trying to convince their son that they did in fact want him. It seemed to work a bit, because when he turned back into Harry Potter to leave, he was smiling a bit.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

It was mid-November now, and Cygnus was having a rough time with the whole hiding out as Harry Potter thing, but also with the whole being a creature with a mate thing. Keeping his glamour's up was exhausting, by the end of the day if he didn't have any opportunities to drop them earlier, he was magically exhausted. Not only was he exhausted just from the glamour's, but his mate bond was an ever present ache in his chest, not to mention that his mate was apparently always either angry or frustrated.

Cygnus and Draco were sitting at their customary table in potions, they were working on a potion that Cygnus knew was important, but the pain and anger in his chest made it nearly impossible to focus.

"Harry," Draco said quietly, putting a hand on his brothers shoulder to get him to stop what he was doing. "Harry, you were about to put the batwings in instead of the lizard tails. Are you okay?" Cygnus hadn't been this careless in potions at all this year, Draco knew he always triple checked what he was supposed to be doing before he did it.

Cygnus whimpered quietly as the pain only became stronger, "It hurts, Draco," he whispered, a hand moving to rub his chest.

"Cy- Harry, why don't you follow the pull? See where it's leading you? Your mate has to be close if you're feeling such a strong pull." Draco responded, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion as to why Cygnus hadn't already done that.

Cygnus shook his head and looked down at the desk in front of him. "He doesn't want me." he breathed; he felt the hand on his shoulder tighten a bit.

"What? He's your mate, of course he wants you," Draco looked affronted, like he couldn't believe what Cygnus was saying.

Cygnus just shook his head again, the anger and frustration coming through his bond was easing, morphing into something else, but Cygnus couldn't tell what it was. "He's always angry," he felt tears coming to his eyes and he tried to push them down but the thought of his mate not wanting him just made him want to curl into a ball.

"and he's always angriest when the pull is strongest, when he's closest to me… He doesn't want me. and I can't blame him, I mean, I wouldn't want me, either. Imagine being a creature, having a mate, and then finding out that your destined was me. I would be disappointed too." The tears started to fall down Cygnus' face fast and heavy, he felt the hand on his shoulder tighten until it was almost painful.

"Why don't you sit out on this potion." Draco said after a moment, he gently pushed Cygnus onto a stool behind him, all the disguised Malfoy could do was nod his head numbly. Pain flooded Cygnus through his bond, but already being in distress he just thought it was his own.

Severus was floating around the classroom in his newt level potions class. He was half in and half out of the shadows as he made his way around the room, peering into the cauldrons of his students. He stopped behind the Malfoy twins, making sure he was hidden before he stepped too close. He noticed as his mate went to put the wrong ingredient in the cauldron and his brother stopped him.

"Harry," Draco said quietly, putting a hand on his brothers shoulder, "Harry, you were about to put the batwings in instead of the lizard tails. Are you okay?" Severus heard the deep concern in his godsons voice, but at the use of Cygnus' fake name, Severus felt something unpleasant twist inside of him.

Cygnus whimpered quietly and Severus had to fight everything in him that was telling him to reach out and comfort his mate, "It hurts, Draco," he whispered, a hand moving to rub his chest.

"Cy- Harry, why don't you follow the pull? See where it's leading you? Your mate has to be close if you're feeling such a strong pull." Severus heard Draco respond, he tried not to wince, he knew Cygnus most likely wouldn't approach him, because Severus was the dominant in their mate bond. He wanted to go up to the other man and pull him into an embrace, kiss him, just hold him for ages- but it was never the right time.

This just angered Severus, the longer he had to go without being able to love his mate, the angrier he became. Not only that, but never being able to see Cygnus as Cygnus, only made things worse. It felt wrong, like Severus was betraying him somehow, by feeling the pull towards Harry Potter. Logically, Severus knew they were the same person, but something in his mind told him that this somehow wasn't his mate because of the Harry Potter façade that Cygnus had to wear. And on top of it all, the pull in his chest only got stronger over time, it was damn painful, and not being able to act on it was just icing on the cake for his frustrations.

Cygnus shook his head and looked down at the desk in front of him. "He doesn't want me," he breathed, Severus' breath caught in his throat, he felt his heart break and his creature whine in pain at the words.

"What? He's your mate, of course he wants you," Severus heard Draco respond, he nodded his head at the statement in agreement, even though the other two couldn't see him.

Cygnus just shook his head again, "He's always angry," Severus flinched,

"and he's always angriest when the pull is strongest, when he's closest to me… He doesn't want me. and I can't blame him, I mean, I wouldn't want me, either. Imagine being a creature, having a mate, and then finding out that your destined was me. I would be disappointed too." The potions master watched as tears streamed down his loves face, he felt his heart shatter and his creature howl in agony, he was the one who caused this. He was the one making his mate upset. He was the one who hadn't gone up to his submissive, hadn't shown him just how much he wanted him.

"Why don't you sit out on this potion." Severus heard Draco say, he stumbled backwards a bit, just in time so that Cygnus could sit without finding him hiding. He felt the pain in his chest only increase as he made his way away from the twins and around the rest of the classroom, he couldn't tell if it was his or Cygnus'.

Cygnus sat on his stool with his head down for the rest of class, just crying for a while. When his tears stopped, he finally looked up at his brother to see him ladling their potion into a vial.

"I can take that up to Professor Snape, if you want," he offered quietly, "I mean, I've basically been useless all class period, so it's the least I could do."

Draco had been thinking during his brewing time. He knew Vela's could only have mates with other creatures, and he knew that Cygnus' mate had to be in the castle because of the pull. He was trying to put the pieces together, trying to remember who the other creatures in the castle were. Someone that Cygnus would be around often enough to always be painfully close. He glanced up at one point and saw his godfather looking over at the two of them, not obviously, but enough that Draco could notice. He narrowed his eyes at the troubled look his godfather wore, he realized then that Severus wasn't looking at the two of them, he was specifically looking at Cygnus. Draco was confused only for a moment before he remembered that his godfather wasn't a human, he was a creature of the shadows.

Draco was going to kill him.

"No Harry," Draco said when his brothers words finally registered in his head, "no, I'll bring it up to Professor Snape, I need to have a word with him about something, anyway. Why don't you clean up and then head out, you look like you could use a break." he spoke calmly and somehow managed to keep the fire out of his eyes. He looked back at Cygnus who gave him a bit of a nod before waving his wand to clean up their station. He grabbed his schoolbag and waved before heading out of the classroom.

Draco waited patiently for the end of class, making sure everybody was gone before he stood and brought his potion to his godfather. He closed the door with a wave of his wand before turning to Severus.

"Draco," Severus nodded in greeting, taking the potion when it was handed to him, when he looked up, he frowned at the look the blonde was giving him.

"Severus," Draco started coldly, "I don't know what game you're playing at, but you better have a damn good reason why I shouldn't maim you right now for how much you're hurting my brother." Severus' frown only deepened.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him," he spoke quietly, "I heard your conversation, he is wrong, I can assure you that."

"Then why the hell haven't you done anything about it?" Draco snapped, "Cygnus grew up in a household where nobody wanted him, where nobody loved him, where he was told he was a burden on them. And now he has a family, and a mate, and he still thinks he isn't wanted, that he doesn't deserve to be wanted, and you're only making that worse! Mother, father and I can only do so much, we are his family, but you are his mate. The one mother magic specifically chose for him, the one who is supposed to love him more than anybody else, and you've made him believe that you don't want him."

Severus had horror and tears in his eyes by the end of Draco's speech, he had no idea just how much he was hurting Cygnus. "I… I thought it was never the right time, I've wanted to act on it for months now, but I thought it was never the right time…" his voice faded. He stood from his seat suddenly, a determined look in his eyes.

"Where is he?" he asked, "I have to make this right."

Draco gave him a calculating look before deciding to tell him, "The room of requirement, we go there most days after classes."

Severus nodded and swept out of the room before Draco could even say anything else.

Severus made his way to the room of requirements far faster than maybe should have been possible from the dungeons. When he got there, he saw a door that almost blended into the wall around it, he put his hand on the doorknob and the room must have decided he was okay to enter because he heard it click as it unlocked.

Severus slowly made his way inside, closing the door quietly behind him. Sitting on a couch, back facing the door, was Cygnus. And not Cygnus disguised as Harry Potter, but actually Cygnus Malfoy, Severus felt the pull become increasingly more persistent.

He made sure that as he walked closer and the pull got stronger, that the emotions he was sending through their bond was love and want, instead of anger and frustration. It must have done something, because he heard Cygnus gasp quietly. Just as Severus stepped up to the back of the couch, Cygnus turned to look at him, the blondes eyes widened minutely.

"Professor Snape what are you-" he started to say, confusion on his face, but Severus cut him off by kissing him thoroughly.

Cygnus gasped, the ache in his chest finally settling, he felt like he was in heaven. He kissed back hesitantly, not really knowing what he was doing.

When Severus pulled away, he moved and sat next to Cygnus on the couch, he pulled the smaller man onto his lap and held him close.

"I am sorry that I made you believe that I didn't want you," Severus spoke softly, he left a tender kiss to his mates forehead, he was elated when Cygnus cuddled into his chest. "I was not angry at you, my heart. All those times I was angry, it was never at or because of you. I was just so frustrated that I couldn't have you, that I didn't get to see the real you, that the pull hurt so much but I felt I couldn't do anything about it."

Cygnus listened to him speak before he nodded slowly, "so… you aren't mad that you got stuck with me?" he asked quietly, he almost startled when he felt strong waves of want, love, affection, and longing through their bond, he looked up at Severus and saw the honesty there. He had his answer.

"I'm sorry I have to be Harry Potter in class," he apologized, leaning his head on Severus' chest and listening to his heartbeat. He felt Severus start to play with his hair and it made him purr quietly.

"I'm sorry you have to be Harry Potter in class, it must be exhausting," Severus felt Cygnus nod against him, he frowned, he had to figure out a way to make Harry Potter disappear and Cygnus Malfoy reappear at the same time without raising suspicion.

"It is," Cygnus mumbled, "I'm magically exhausted all the time, it's why even though I'm doing well in my classes, I'm not exactly performing at 100%. My magical energy is depleted from having to keep them up all the time except when I'm sleeping or the hour or two that I get when I come here or go to the Slytherin dorms with Draco. Instead of starting my day 100% charged, I've been waking up with less and less energy, I'm at about 50% charged these days."

Severus' frown only deepened, he held Cygnus closer to him and continued to play with his hair and hold him close while he kept a constant stream of love through their bond, wanting Cygnus to know just how much he cared for him, but also didn't want him knowing how upset Severus was getting at finding out how much hiding hurt his mate.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked gently, Cygnus hummed against his chest,

"Warm, loved, sleepy," the blonde responded, nuzzling at Severus' neck.

"Why don't you go to sleep for a bit, my love." He commanded gently, it was phrased as a question, but it definitely wasn't. Severus knew with them being mates, and him being the dominant mate, that Cygnus would be more inclined to listen to his orders than not. Severus felt him nod again, it was only a few minutes before Cygnus was fast asleep on Severus' chest.

Severus smiled down at him, he got a bit more comfortable on the couch, making sure Cygnus was also comfortable before starting to think of something that they could do to make Harry Potter go away.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Cygnus was sitting over at the Gryffindor table, rather bored and annoyed and just so bloody tired. It was nearing winter break at this point, and he was just ready for the break to be here. He was heading to Malfoy manor for the holiday with Draco, and he was looking forward to not having to hide for almost a month straight. He hoped he could get his magical energy recharged before he had to come back.

He was brought out of his thoughts by someone calling "Hey, Potter!" he turned in his seat and saw Ron Weasley standing behind him, Cygnus just raised an eyebrow at him, but his nerves spiked at the look on the redheads face.

"Noticed you've been hanging around with Malfoy and the other Slytherins a lot," Ron gave him a bit of a sneer, "what, are you a slimy snake now, too? Gone and become a death eater like the rest of them, yeah?"

Cygnus couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Listen Weasley, who I associate myself with is no business of yours. So, if you don't mind, I would like to finish my breakfast in peace." Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, because he saw Ron's face flare with anger, so furious even his ears were turning red. Cygnus felt his anxiety spike, but he just turned around in his seat to continue his food, he wasn't expecting the hand that grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back.

Cygnus gasped and fell out of his seat, he looked up at Weasley only to see him grab his wrist and yank him up so hard his arm pulled out of socket, he let out a small cry of pain. "What the fuck, Weasley?" Cygnus hissed, but the redhead didn't seem to care at all, he was holding on to his wrist so tight Cygnus was sure he was leaving bruises. He glanced over to the Slytherin table and noticed Draco starting to stand, a very intense look in his eyes, but Cygnus shook his head just a bit.

"Oh what, your slimy Slytherin friends coming to help you? To fight your battles for you?" Ron mocked, Cygnus looked up at the ceiling and really, _really_ wished he wasn't running on such a low battery at the moment, or he would have forced Ron away with his magic by now.

"I don't know what you want, _Ronald_." He practically spat the name, "You're the one who stopped talking to me, remember?" he tried to pull his wrist away, but his dislocated shoulder made it hurt too badly to fight the others grip.

Ron was cocking his fist back to swing at Cygnus when his own wrist was caught, affectively stopping him.

Cygnus had closed his eyes, expecting the blow, but when it never came, he slowly opened them and saw a very, very angry Severus Snape behind the redhead. He was confused at first, he hadn't noticed the other coming towards them, but then he remembered the whole shadow person thing and it made a lot more sense.

"Weasley," Severus drawled icily, "you will unhand him at once." His voice was almost a growl, the youngest Weasley male glared at him from over his shoulder before letting go of Cygnus' wrist, who stumbled back as he was let go.

"Oh, come on Snape, we all know you hate Potter!" Ron said with a glare as he turned to face the potions professor. Severus had to stop himself from attacking his student.

"20 points, Mr. Weasley, from Gryffindor for your cheek. 40 for the unwarranted attack of a fellow student, and 30 points for each of Mr. Potters injuries. Plus, detention with filch every Saturday for the next 2 months after break." His voice was cold, he pushed the redhead out of the way and went over to his mate, who was holding his shoulder with a deep look of pain. He stopped himself from thoughtlessly pulling him close.

"Come with me, Mr. Potter," he spoke, his voice had a bit of an edge to it, but Cygnus knew that he wasn't upset at him in any way. He nodded weakly and let Severus lead him out of the great hall, everybody staring after them, except for Draco, who was sending the Weasley asshole several powerful hexes from across the hall.

Severus lead them not to the infirmary, but down to his rooms, he held the door open for Cygnus who was still holding his shoulder as he walked. As soon as the door was shut behind them, Cygnus took off his glamour's and stepped into the open arms of his mate. He felt Severus tighten his hold, rubbing his back soothingly.

After a couple of minutes Severus pulled away from Cygnus, he took out his wand and snapped his shoulder back into socket with a spell, the blonde let out a cry of pain and Severus instantly pulled him back into an embrace.

"shh love, it's okay, I've got you," Severus whispered, kissing the top of his head, he was a bit shocked when suddenly two very large wings encompassed them, as if guarding them from the world, he forgot that vela's had wings.

Cygnus buried his face in Severus' neck, he wasn't sure he could entirely form words, too many thoughts running around in his mind, so he sent his feelings of love and gratitude through their bond. Severus just shushed him again, when Cygnus finally pulled his wings back in Severus led them over to the couch to sit. He pulled his mate into his lap and hummed, kissing him tenderly. Cygnus kissed back easily, practically vibrating at the attention.

When they pulled away Cygnus laid his head on Severus' shoulder, gripping on to the front of his robes, just making sure he wouldn't leave anytime soon.

"Let me see your wrist," Severus said gently, Cygnus held it out for him. There were bruises in the shape of Weasleys hand wrapped around his wrist from the tight hold, Severus wanted to go find the Weasley menace and destroy him for leaving marks on his mate. He took a deep breath to calm himself, he summoned bruise salve to him and started applying it to Cygnus' wrist. When he was done, he lightly kissed the skin there before putting his arm back down, the blonde cuddled closer to him.

"Thank you," Cygnus finally managed to speak, Severus shook his head a bit,

"Of course, my heart," he wrapped his arms firmly around his mate. They were silent for a while, Cygnus just relaxing in the arms of his mate before he had to go to classes.

"I wish Harry Potter would just die," he mumbled, he felt Severus hum under him,

"I share the sentiment. Maybe that could be arranged?" he began to play with Cygnus' hair, "Today is the last day of classes, you will be going home tomorrow, Lucius has several friends at the ministry who could create a fake crime scene and police report, and another who works for the prophet who could publish what we wanted her to about the 'case'." he thought aloud. "Harry Potter is found dead at the beginning of break, Cygnus Malfoy comes back for the new term, we make up some fake backstory of where you've been and viola."

Cygnus chuckled softly, "You think it could be that easy? Hell, I'll even pose for photos of my fake death," he nuzzled Severus' neck and heard him hum again.

"I have to run it by Lucius, but it should be relatively simple if we can pull the right strings. You could probably even pick how you died, if you so desire." Severus teased.

"Oh, Draco HAS to give a fake interview to the press. Because once someone reports on it, all the other reporters are going to want to talk about it. He could be interviewed by Rita skeeter, even. Just have him give different testimonies to everybody," Cygnus laughed, his previous mood lifted considerably.

Severus smiled as his love's mood improved, "Mmm, we could skip classes and Floo your father and get the story started?"

"Potions is first today, so we can go to that and I can pull Draco into the plan?" Cygnus looked up at his mate with a shy smile, Severus couldn't help but pull him into a kiss.

"Well, come on, off to potions it is, then," Severus smiled when he pulled away. Cygnus laughed and climbed out of his mates lap. He was just about to leave when Severus caught his wrist, "Cygnus, love, you might want to go back to being Harry Potter for the day." He said gently. Cygnus blushed,

"Oh, yeah, almost forgot," he mumbled. He sighed and suddenly Harry Potter was standing there, looking not as happy as he had a moment ago. Severus shook his head and let go of his wrist, pushing him gently out of the rooms so they could head to class.

"Harry!" Draco called as they walked into the room, Cygnus laughed softly as he went over to his brother while Severus went over to his desk to prepare the lesson. He knew it was going to be a small class, a lot of people usually skipped the day before the break, and nobody could really blame them.

"I'm alright Draco, Sev-" Cygnus corrected himself, "Professor Snape fixed me up, see?" he rolled his shoulder, he winced as it was still sore, but he could at least move it, so that was an improvement.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Cygnus for a moment, seeing mischief living there. "You're up to something," when Cygnus grinned evilly, Draco couldn't help but smirk, he couldn't wait to hear what it was.

The rest of the class slowly trickled in, as Cygnus had guessed, there was only 4 of the 13 students in the class present, coincidentally, the other two being Blaise and Pansy, Cygnus' grin grew. After a few minutes of talking quietly so Severus could make sure nobody else was coming, he put a quick locking charm on the door with a note that said "danger of toxic fumes" to have an explanation as to why the door was locked if anybody tried to get in.

The four Slytherins stood from their seats in time for Severus to spell them over to the sides of the room and conjure a couple of couches and armchairs in the middle of the room so they could just sit and chat for the 2 hour class period.

Cygnus was elated that he was able to take his glamour's off, he stretched, being in the Harry Potter body was always weird and awkward these days. He stretched his wings as well before tucking them back into his back and going over to the couch Severus was already sitting on, he placed himself in his mates lap and was more than happy when he felt arms wrap around him. Pansy and Blaise sat on the other couch while Draco sat in an armchair.

"Alright, Cyg'" Draco said with a bit of a smirk, "what's going on in that head of yours?"

Cygnus laughed softly, "We're killing off Harry Potter during the break," he said simply, the other three Slytherins looked at each other before looking back at him, Draco's smirk turned into a grin.

"What's the plan?"

"So," Cygnus started, purring quietly as he felt a hand card through his hair, "Severus was saying how some of fathers connections in the ministry could make a fake crime scene and police investigation and police report and all that- plus a journalist who could get the story in the prophet with what we want it to say. So, my thought was, with Potter going 'home' over the break, we find him dead in an alleyway in surrey. Haven't figured out how he dies yet, got any ideas?" he grinned at his friends.

"You could have him mauled by a stray dog," Blaise spoke up,

"Oh, or it could be an old fashioned mugging," Pansy added,

"We could recreate your dementor attack from fifth year," Severus suggested, kissing the top of his head,

"What if it was simpler than that," Draco hummed, "I like Pansy's mugging idea, but I think it would feel a little coincidental, y'know? What if we staged a suicide? That way it wouldn't seem suspicious, because nothing came and conveniently killed him during the break, he did it himself, so people would think it was thought out and planned beforehand."

Cygnus hummed, "Harry Potter _did_ have a history of suicidal ideation," he spoke quietly, he felt the arms around him stiffen, he looked up at his mate who was giving him a very weird look.

"He did?" Severus asked, his voice was shaky, Cygnus nodded slowly,

"Yes, he did, I did." He answered honestly, "I tried a couple of times, but I always ended up living, I guess there was a reason for it, huh?" he gave a weak smile, "Had to stay alive for all of this." He motioned towards everybody, just indicating his new life in general.

Severus stared at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug so tight Cygnus thought he might start have trouble breathing. "Never again." Severus said firmly, Cygnus hummed at the command and nodded,

"Never again. I promise." He said quietly, Severus gave him a quick kiss before Cygnus turned back towards his friends. Draco looked a bit distressed at the information, but he shook his head to clear his thoughts. Cygnus was here now, he was okay now, everything was going to be fine.

"So, suicide it is." Draco said with a clap of his hands. "I get to give a fake statement, right?" he grinned when Cygnus laughed,

"Oh 1000%. If more reporters come to you other than fathers friend, can you give them all wildly different stories about my life and who I was?"

"You got it, Cyg'" Draco gave him a salute and they all laughed before settling into a less serious conversation, just enjoying their time before the break.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

When Cygnus and Draco got off of the train at platform 9 ¾ , they were both ecstatic to be away from Hogwarts for a bit. They looked around for blonde hair and Draco spotted them first,

"Mother! Father!" he called with a grin, practically running up to them for a hug. Neither of them had seen their parents sense the first day of school when they met Cygnus, so he was excited to see them. Lucius and Narcissa smiled at Draco and gave him a hug each. When he pulled away, he turned expecting Cygnus to be next to him, but he wasn't. Draco frowned and turned to look for his brother.

Cygnus was standing a couple of yards away from the family, his head down. While him and his parents wrote letters back and forth, he still had a lot of insecurities about being a part of the Malfoy family, especially now, while he was still Harry Potter in front of everybody. Draco's frown only deepened at the almost broken look Cygnus had about him. He went over and took his hand, pulling him towards Lucius and Narcissa, Cygnus followed but didn't look up from the ground.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," he greeted quietly, wishing he could run up to and hug them like Draco had done.

Draco looked up at his parents and saw the heartbroken looks on their faces at the way Cygnus was acting around them, he waved his hand to get their attention, Narcissa looked over at him,

"Why don't we go home?" Draco suggested once he knew he had someone's attention. The Malfoy parents nodded, he could tell that they both wanted to grab on to Cygnus for the side along apparition, but Draco shook his head and pulled his brother into his side before apparating away.

Cygnus landed and he stumbled a bit, but Draco caught him. As soon as he realized he was outside Malfoy manor he relaxed a tiny bit and removed his glamour's, he let Draco lead him inside. The Manor was huge, it had several acres of square footage, but Cygnus was surprised when he led him in through a door that was obviously not the front. When they entered, they were in a regular family sized home, attached to the manor, except you couldn't get in or out to the main building through the house, so it was like it was detached. Cygnus couldn't help but feel comforted by the quaintness of it.

"What if they change their mind, Draco?" he whispered, Draco cursed the muggles that made his brother think he was unwanted.

"They won't, Cygnus, I promise." He said gentle but firm. Draco sighed at the weak nod he received in response. He stopped them in the parlor, waiting for their parents to appear. The elder Malfoys walked in the door only a moment later, they saw their boys and quickly stepped over to them, Narcissa pulled Cygnus into a hug first. Cygnus slowly moved to hug her back, clinging to her for a long time. When she pulled away, he was pulled into a hug by Lucius. He was trying not to cry, he really was, but he felt so loved, so whole, he didn't know what he was supposed to do with it all.

When Lucius pulled away from the hug he went and hugged Draco again, as did Narcissa. He led them through the parlor and into a comfy living room.

"So, Severus fire called me about a staged suicide?" Lucius hummed, raising an eyebrow at his boys. He couldn't help but smile at the way Cygnus grinned.

"We're gonna kill off Harry Potter," Draco laughed a bit, "we figured suicide would be the most believable cause of death. Severus mentioned that you had some connections that would make it easy to go along with the plan?"

Lucius chuckled, "Yes, I do. Do you have any details figured out for the paper and police report, yet?"

"Potters gonna slit his wrists in an alley a few blocks away from his muggle relatives house," Cygnus hummed, leaning back into the soft couch. "he'll have a suicide note safety pinned to his shirt, to make it look premeditated. I'm more than willing to pose for pictures, and I have an old note that I had written a couple years ago that we could use." Cygnus forgot he was talking to his parents, surprised when they both looked very upset at the information.

"Mother? Father?" he asked quietly, Narcissa started crying, Cygnus realized that he had yet to call them that, he got up from his seat and sat in between them on the couch they were on, he felt them hold onto him tightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," he whispered, leaning his head on his father's shoulder.

"Are you still wanting to kill yourself?" Lucius asked, his voice filled with pain and sadness, he relaxed however when Cygnus shook his head.

"No, I've got too much to live for, these days." Cygnus felt the arms around him tighten, he felt like all the broken pieces he was previously made out of were fusing back together with their love.

"Alright," Lucius said after a long moment, standing from the embrace, "I have a few people to owl and call, but I suspect by the end of the today we'll be called for pictures," Lucius smirked a bit, he pecked Narcissa's lips before giving both of his boys kisses on their foreheads. He knew they were 17, legally adults now, but he felt like he needed to do it anyway.

Draco and Cygnus were playing cards in Draco's bedroom when they heard their names being called.

"Draco! Cygnus!" Narcissa called from down the stairs. "It's time to kill a Gryffindor!" her voice almost sounded like she was sing-songing the words, quite elated to be able to kill off Potter and have her son back completely.

Cygnus and Draco grinned at each other, they put their card game down and got up. Harry went over to his bottomless backpack. He rummaged around in it before pulling out a piece of parchment, a razor, and some fake blood. He noticed the look Draco was giving him and he just grinned again.

"Gotta make it look believable, yeah?" Draco just shook his head at him and led him downstairs.

In the end, Cygnus thought that the photos and police report were really convincing, Hell, even he felt bad for Potter after reading it. It was on the front page of the paper 2 days after Cygnus arrived at Malfoy manor. The headline read, **"BOY WHO LIVED FOUND DEAD BY SUICIDE AT 17" **and the picture underneath was of Harry Potter, laying slumped over in an alley, a bloody razor in his hand, a glassy look in his eyes, and blood everywhere, coming from ugly cuts down his arms. Cygnus smirked; it had come out better than expected.

The suicide note was photographed and then transcripted under the picture,

"**Dear whoever,**

**I couldn't take it anymore, I'm sorry. It hurts, to exist, to be the savior without anybody being there for me. I don't know how I died yet, but however I did it, I hope I wasn't too much of a burden on anybody. **

**Do not feel bad for me, I am in Heaven now, with my mum and dad, and I don't have to hurt anymore. **

**Harry P."**

It was a note he had written for one of his suicide attempts when he was 15, so it both looked and sounded believable, even going so far as having some of the ink smudged from tear stains.

Draco had given a testimony for the fake police report, saying how Harry was nothing short of an angel who just wanted to help people. It was only that afternoon that Draco was getting owls from numerous other reporters, asking for his statement.

Cygnus thought that winter break went by way too fast, but he had had a great time. He loved spending time with his family and his mate, and he had his first real Christmas ever, he ended up crying a lot- but at least they were happy tears!

A few days before they were supposed to go back to Hogwarts, another article in the paper was written about him. It was smaller than the Harry Potter one, but the headline read **"Cygnus Malfoy, long lost son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, found at muggle orphanage"**.

Cygnus was elated, Harry Potter was dead, Cygnus Malfoy was found, and he didn't have to hide anymore. Over the break, his magical battery was able to be refilled because he wasn't wearing a constant glamour, so he was better than he ever had been.

When Lucius and Narcissa dropped the boys off at the train station, Cygnus was able to hug them in front of everybody, and they hugged him back happily. Him and Draco received kisses on the cheek from their mother before they were ushered onto the train, they waved before going to find Pansy and Blaise.

Cygnus was walking into the castle for the first time as himself, he took a deep breath and sighed in happiness. He was about to enter the great hall when he was stopped by headmistress McGonagall, he almost forgot that he had to be sorted. He didn't have to do it in front of the entire hall like in first year, but McGonagall still had to put the sorting hat on his head.

"_mmm, Mr. Malfoy," _the sorting hat hummed into his mind, Cygnus just smiled and said hello, "_I am sorry about your sorting the first time around, I didn't want to put you in Gryffindor- as you know. I'm happy to see that you understand why, now." _It hummed before calling out his sorting, "SLYTHERIN"

Cygnus grinned and took the hat off, his robes changed to Slytherin robes as he entered the hall. Draco saw the green robes and he smirked, Cygnus just laughed and made his way over to the Slytherin table, where he always belonged.

He looked around the hall, nobody was paying any attention to him, except Severus who was at the head table staring down at him lovingly. Cygnus couldn't help the small blush, especially when he felt longing through their bond. He gave his mate a small wave, Severus gave him a smile in return.

The first half of Cygnus' seventh year had been a mess, but he knew the second half wouldn't be. He grinned, knowing things could only get better from here.


End file.
